Shah is ICAI VP, will be chief next year

NAGPUR: The country's accounting regulator Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) will be once again headed by a person from the city. After indirect taxes expert Ashok Chandak, who held the office of the institute's president during 2002-03, another local chartered accountant Jaideep Shah, has been elected as vice-president of the ICAI. He will be taking over as president a year later.In the ICAI, formed through a parliamentary enactment in 1949, the vice-president is elected by the members' council and takes over as president a year later. Shah claims he will be the third President from a Tier II city after G Ramaswamy who holds the office at present and Chandak. He has earlier held the post of the chairman of board of studies and was instrumental in bringing in major changes in the chartered accountancy course.It was during Shah's regime that anentrance examination- common proficiency test (CPT)- was introduced for takingadmission into the course. He also made changes in the course pattern that ledto reducing the time frame to four and a half years against five earlier. Nowthe students can join the practical training after passing the entranceexamination and taking the test with just one group of subjects in thesubsequent examination. Earlier it was a lengthier process.Talkingto newspersons after taking over as the vice-president, Shah said that institutewas planning to come up with a campus-interview like arrangement for experiencedchartered accountants. "At present, such arrangements are being made for thefresh pass-outs, but now it is planned to provide assistance to experiencedprofessionals too and it may include looking for job opportunities abroad," hesaid.There are plans for soft-skill training courses for existingprofessionals apart from augmenting infrastructure at ICAI branches in smallercities, he added.